antitumor
Meaning of antitumor: Antitumor describes a treatment or biological effect that works to shrink, slow, or destroy an existing tumor.
Definition of antitumor
Antitumor describes an effect, treatment, or agent aimed at working against a tumor, typically by slowing its growth, shrinking it, or destroying tumor cells. The term is applied broadly across cancer treatment, including antitumor drugs, antitumor immune responses, and antitumor activity observed in laboratory or clinical studies.
An antitumor effect can occur through several different mechanisms, such as directly damaging cancer cells, interfering with the signals that drive their growth, or stimulating the immune system to recognize and attack tumor cells. Because antitumor is a general descriptive term rather than a specific mechanism, it is usually accompanied by more detail about how a particular treatment achieves its effect.
Antitumor activity observed in early research does not necessarily predict the same effect when a treatment is later used more broadly in patients.
Used in a sentence
Laboratory studies demonstrated antitumor activity of the compound against several cancer cell lines.
Good to know
Antitumor is a general descriptive term covering many different mechanisms of action, so it does not by itself indicate how a particular treatment works against a tumor.
Word origin
Where “antitumor” comes from
Formed from anti- (Greek, meaning "against") and tumor, from Latin tumor, meaning "a swelling."